For 17 seasons, Mike Webster played football in three decades and was the anchor for many offensive line units. But none more so than the ones he was a part of during the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the 1970s. Despite being 6-foot-1 and 255 pounds, no center matched the level of toughness and intensity that Webster displayed during every snap, earning him the nickname “Iron Mike.”
Mike Webster was born in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, on March 18, 1952. He grew up on a 620-acre potato farm near Hershaw, Wisconsin, and fell in love with football at a very young age, idolizing Green Bay Packers fullback Jim Taylor.
Webster attended Rhinelander High School, where he earned accolades in wrestling. However, he wouldn’t get to suit up for the football team until his junior year – due to responsibilities on his family’s farm. Despite his late introduction to the physical nature of the sport, Webster quickly learned how to command the offensive line and earned a football scholarship. Following his graduation in 1969, he committed to the University of Wisconsin, where he became arguably the best center in the Big 10 during his era.
In 1972, Webster earned Second-Team All-American honors. The following season, he was even better – winning First-Team All-American accolades. In 1974, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Webster in the fifth round and was the 125th player taken in the NFL Draft.
During his first two seasons as a pro, Webster split time on the offensive line with veteran Ray Mansfield. By 1976, Webster became the starting center and began his string of 150 consecutive starts until the 1986 campaign. Webster’s violent blocking style embodied the rigid, physical identity the Steelers were known for during the 1970s.
When Webster first arrived on the team in ’74, the Steelers went on consecutive championship runs to win Super Bowl IX and Super Bowl X the following season. In his third season as a starter, Pittsburgh had another run after finishing 14-2 in the regular season. Webster finished the season with First-Team All-Pro honors, a nod to the Pro Bowl, and a Super Bowl XIII championship over the Dallas Cowboys.
The following year, Pittsburgh had another solid regular season and finished with the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl championship in six seasons. Webster made the Pro Bowl eight consecutive seasons from 1978 to 1985 and was a five-time All-Pro. In 1987, Webster made the Pro Bowl for the final time in his career.
Webster became a free agent following the 1988 season and signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as the team’s offensive line coach. However, after a few weeks with the club, Webster threw the pads back on and anchored the Chiefs’ offensive line for two seasons before calling it a career in the 1991 offseason. At the time of his retirement, Webster was the last remaining player from Pittsburgh’s 1970s dynasty to call it a career.
In 1997, Webster was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The man they called “Iron Mike” was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a five-time All-Pro, a four-time Super Bowl champion, a member of the NFL’s 1970 and 1980 All-Decade Teams and the league’s 75th and 100th Anniversary Teams.
Unfortunately, Webster’s life went downhill after leaving the league. Proven to have been disabled before his retirement from the NFL, Webster suffered from amnesia, dementia, depression, and acute bone and muscular pain. He was homeless and often lived in his truck due to the state his mind and body were in as a result of his football injuries.
In 2002, Webster passed away at 50 years old from a heart attack. Post-examination of his body and brain eventually led to the diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repetitive trauma to the skull and brain.
Webster would become one of the first specimens that inevitably brought awareness of CTE, and the seriousness of concussion and head injuries can have on players and athletes. Over the next two decades, the NFL would reluctantly but eventually follow suit to create rules that would make the game safer for its players.
